Auto Insurance Laws in New York
To register a vehicle in New York, you must purchase no-fault insurance, sometimes known as Personal Injury Protection (PIP). This provides coverage for injuries resulting from an accident, regardless of fault. In addition, you must carry liability insurance. This provides coverage for injuries caused by an accident for which you (or another driver of your vehicle) were at fault.
New York further requires uninsured motorist coverage, which protects a victim when the vehicle of the at-fault driver is not insured. It also can cover a hit and run, when an at-fault driver flees the scene and is never identified.
No-Fault Insurance (PIP) in New York
No-fault (PIP) benefits form the first layer of insurance after a car crash. A victim can get these benefits without proving the liability of another party. The no-fault system provides victims with prompt compensation for certain economic losses, without requiring them to go through a protracted legal process. In general, it covers reasonable and necessary medical expenses, 80 percent of lost earnings up to a certain cap, and a limited amount of compensation for other reasonable and necessary expenses resulting from the accident. These might include the cost of transportation to doctor’s appointments, for example.
New York requires a person registering a vehicle to get $50,000 in no-fault benefits, which are available to the policyholder and family members living in their household, as well as passengers injured in the vehicle while in New York State. A pedestrian injured by a vehicle also can get these benefits. If a victim has health insurance, no-fault insurance still provides primary coverage. This means that it pays benefits first after a car crash.
Liability Insurance in New York
Liability insurance takes effect when someone alleges that the policyholder or someone else driving their car caused an accident due to their careless actions. It pays damages to that third party if the covered driver was at fault, and the third party legally qualifies to go outside the no-fault system. The liability insurer usually will handle the defense of these cases. If a policyholder sues someone else after an accident, though, their liability insurer does not need to handle this type of case for them.
New York requires the following minimum amounts of liability insurance:
- $10,000 for property damage per accident
- $25,000 for non-fatal injuries per person per accident
- $50,000 for death per person per accident
- $50,000 for non-fatal injuries to two or more people per accident
- $100,000 for deaths of two or more people per accident
Liability insurance generally covers injuries to passengers in the vehicle of the policyholder. However, it tends not to cover injuries to the spouse of the policyholder when riding in their vehicle, unless the policyholder has purchased an additional form of coverage called supplemental spousal liability insurance. In August 2023, New York began requiring insurers to provide this coverage, although the insured may decline it.
Uninsured Motorist Insurance in New York
Uninsured motorist insurance provides protection for injuries to the policyholder, other people in their car, and family members who live in their household when they are injured by an uninsured vehicle or a driver who illegally flees the scene. Like no-fault insurance, this does not cover vehicle repairs or other property damage.
Uninsured motorist insurance must be provided in the same amounts as the minimum bodily injury limits for liability insurance. The standard version of this coverage applies only to accidents in New York State, but a policyholder can add coverage for accidents in other states for a small fee. A policyholder files an uninsured motorist claim with their own insurer, but their pre-existing relationship with the insurer does not mean that the claim will be uncontested. The insurer may use defenses similar to those that a liability insurer would use in trying to defeat or minimize the claim. As a result, legal representation may be just as critical in these cases as in claims against a liability insurer.
